Threatening letters found on Penticton school property

Shelley Jordan

(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)

February 18, 2015 - 4:29 PM

PENTICTON - Mounties want to know who made photocopies of a letter containing a threat located on the grounds of Skaha Middle School and Princess Margaret Secondary School in Penticton Wednesday morning.

The papers were found at 9:15 a.m. Feb. 18 and police were called, according to an RCMP media release. Though Mounties don't believe there's imminent danger to students or staff, they say they are concerned and are taking proactive investigative steps to find out who is responsible.

"Officers have been deployed to several schools as a precaution to ensure continued safety at the schools until a suspect can be identified," RCMP Sgt. Rick Dellebuur said in the release.

School District #67 also provided a media release, stating schools cooperated with RCMP and relevant agencies as outlined in their 'Community Threat Assessment Protocol' to ensure the safety of students and staff, and to identify the threat maker. They also said Mounties went to several schools in the district, and remained on site for the remainder of the school day. As well, schools locked exterior doors with the exception of the main entrance, though it was monitored. Staff was briefed the release said.

Penticton RCMP have released a copy of the threats as written hoping someone will see it and assist them with their investigation. Anyone with information can contact Penticton RCMP at 250-492-4300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PHOTO OF THE LETTER THAT WAS PHOTOCOPIED AND LEFT ON SCHOOL GROUNDS. STRONG LANGUAGE ADVISORY:

Photocopies of a letter containing threats and strong language was found on the grounds of two Penticton schools Feb. 18, 2015.

Image Credit: Contributed

To contact a reporter for this story, email sarstad@infonews.ca, call 250-488-3065. To contact the managing editor, email Marshall Jones at mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

— This story was updated at 10:20 Feb. 19, 2015 to include details from a School District #67 media release.

OPINION At least part of me wasn’t sure I should write this, given what happened last time. It was August 15, 2003 and like many Thursdays before it, I was scratching around for a column idea. The summer newsroom